Better state pension but not until aged 67

Britain’s workers will receive a more generous state pension in return for working longer, according to reports.

Under recommendations from the Pensions Commission, due to report at the end of the month, the age at which people will be eligible to claim the state pension will rise over time from 65 to 67, according to the Financial Times.

The commission was set up to review pensions amid fears that many workers are heading for poverty in old age.

Other expected recommendations include a new national savings plan in which people will automatically be enrolled when they start a job, with the right, for a limited period, to opt out, according to the report.

The state pension should also be closer to the £109-a-week means-tested minimum income guarantee rather than an £80-a-week basic state pension, the commission is expected to say.

The pension should rise in line with earnings, not just prices, and the changes will be phased in after 2020 when the women’s state pension age is aligned with men’s at 65, the report said.

After that, the age should rise in accordance with the rate at which people are living longer, it said.